Your Music Makes My Heart Stop
by cr8vgrl
Summary: Cami's sixteenth birthday was supposed to be special, but an accident at a Connect 3 concert ruins it. Or does it? She and Nate become friends, but can they make it through their careers, or will the pressure and fame of Hollywood drive them apart?
1. Emergency

**A/N: Okay everyone, I'm giving this a try to see what it's like. You guys have blown me away asking me to write stories for you, and I've been staying up at night trying to think of "never-before-seen" plotlines. On a fanfiction site, those are hard to come by. :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to, and written for, camirae. Thanks so much for trusting me with this! I own nothing, and the characters are once again OOC because I've never met them! On with the story! Enjoy!**

"Ouch!" The ball had seriously come out of nowhere. It must have just appeared out of thin air because Cami had just looked up to see how the game was going, and the ball was _not_ there. She rubbed the side of her head experimentally, wincing as she did so. It must have been her brother that kicked the ball.

Sure enough, it was her brother, Ryne. "Are you alright?" he asked, running off the field and kneeling next to her. "Are you hurt?"

Cami shook her head, feeling uncomfortable as she watched all her other friends start to drift closer, curious about this brother/sister exchange. "No, I'm fine," she responded. She grinned, marking the page in her book and closing it with a snap. "Was that my cue that I should get back to playing?" she asked teasingly.

Ryne looked relieved that his sister seemed back to normal. "No," he responded, and then grinned. "But it could be."

Cami extended her foot to hook the soccer ball and bring it closer. "Alright," she said, "I'm in."

Ryne turned around to shout at the other boys on the field, "Everybody take cover! Cami's back in the game!"

Cami smacked her brother's shoulder, glaring at him. "I am not _that_ bad," she huffed, pushing her shoulder length wavy black hair out of her face. Ryne glanced down at his petite sister, smiling as he watched her eyes soften. She could never stay mad at him for too long. "Well," she amended, "maybe I am that bad."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ryne teased, putting a hand on Cami's shoulder.

Cami flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Say what you'd like, brother of mine," she said, stepping forward onto the playing field. "Nothing can ruin this day for me."

"Ah yes," Ryne said as he watched his sister throw the ball back into play. "You and dad are going to that concert today, aren't you?"

"That concert?" Cami asked incredulously, forgetting where she was standing. "That's all you can call it? _That_ concert? You make it sound like it's just some off the wall band! Ryne, they're the Connect 3 boys! They're not just _that_ band!"

Ryne stepped in front of his sister, butting the ball away before it hit her once more in the head. "I think you've gone a little delusional," he replied. "If you keep playing with us, you might not make it to the concert."

Cami blushed, forcing herself to pay more attention. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Ryne smiled at her knowingly. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "And I really do hope that you have fun."

Cami smiled back and turned to walk off the field. "I think you can handle this game without me," she teased. "I can't concentrate today."

"Do you ever?" Ryne asked innocently, jumping out of the way of Cami's swatting hand.

Cami decided not to argue, and instead stuffed her romance novel into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and waving to the other boys before she left for home. The short walk to her house gave her just enough time to plan her wardrobe for the concert, and think about where she wanted to go for dinner. After all, this was her birthday present from her parents. She could go wherever she wanted.

* * *

Once back home, she hurried to shower and dress for the concert. Painstakingly, she straightened her hair, making sure that every strand was straightened to perfection. She grabbed her messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder, making sure that her camera was safely tucked away in the side pocket. As an aspiring photographer, what better, and frankly, cuter, subjects could there be to experiment on than the Connect 3 boys?

"Cami! Are you ready to go yet?" her father called from downstairs.

"Coming!" she called, racing down the stairs as fast as she could. Normally, she would have teased him about not rushing perfection, but she took pity on him since he had just had back surgery and was really making an effort tonight to take her to the concert.

Her mom was there, waiting for her in the living room. "Have a wonderful time, Cami," she told her daughter, kissing her cheek delicately. "And happy birthday."

"Thanks, mom," Cami replied. She turned to hug Ryne, who was waiting there with an envelope. "By Ry," she said, hugging him tightly.

"Have fun," Ryne whispered back. He shook his head, disentangling himself from his sister's embrace. "I can't believe you're turning sixteen." He smiled and handed her the envelope. "From me."

Cami smiled. "Thanks," she said and followed her dad out the door.

* * *

The venue was huge! Cami followed her father shyly as he wove his way through the crowds. There were girls everywhere, screaming and laughing and chatting. Most of their conversations seemed centered around the boys they had come to see, and Cami forced herself not to roll her eyes at the shallowness of their exchanges. With so much going on around her, Cami barely noticed where she was. Her whole focus was centered on keeping her dad in sight, and not running into anyone.

Finally, she caught up with her dad. "Dad!" she called. "Where are you going?"

He turned and looked at her with a smile on his face. "I'm going to your seat," he responded. He handed her a ticket. "Would you like to find it by yourself?"

Cami's hand shook slightly as she took the ticket offered to her. Already, they were on the floor level. How much better could this get? Her parents had been very secretive about the tickets, and now she understood why. "Sure," she said quietly, ignoring the fact that her dad couldn't hear her over the noise.

She glanced down at the ticket, her eyes searching for a number. Her heart leapt as she focused on the words **Row 1 Seat 15**. She looked up at her dad, not quite able to believe what was written in ink before her. "No," she said.

"Yes," her father replied. "Happy birthday, Cami."

And then, for one moment, Cami became like all those other girls, and with a squeal, threw her arms around her dad. "Thank you! Oh my gosh! Thank you!"

Her dad laughed and glanced around. "Come on. Let's go find our seats. People are starting to stare."

Cami wasn't aware of much else as she waited excitedly in her front row seat, on Nate's side of course, holding her ticket and squirming happily in her seat. She was so excited that she didn't care about all the looks she was getting from jealous girls who wished they could be in the front row. When the lights dimmed, Cami felt her heart speed up to an even more accelerated rate, and when she first saw Nate step out onto the stage, she broke out into a huge grin.

The concert started, and Cami sang along with every song, having memorized all of the lyrics months ago. It was towards the middle of the concert when she began to feel slightly nauseated, and her arms and neck began to bother her. Not willing to let herself miss out on the rest of the concert, Cami tried to push the feelings away. She smiled as the soothing, quick beat of the bass reverberated through her body.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" Shane asked the audience. Cami was in so much pain now that the most she could do was clap and try to look happy as Shane scanned the audience. It might have been her imagination, but Cami thought that his eyes rested on her for a little longer than necessary. Upon hearing the crowd's excited screams, Shane turned back to his brothers and whispered something in Nate's ear.

Nate's head whipped around, and after a moment, his eyes landed on Cami. Her eyes widened as he looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded at Shane. The boys began to play, but the curiousness of the action, combined with the pain Cami was feeling, caused her to zone out for a moment. All of the sudden, she felt as though her heart had stopped. Cami's hand flashed out blindly to try and get her dad's attention.

He turned and saw her, gasping for breath and clutching her heart. "Cami!" he called over the noise. "What's wrong?!" His frantic question made Cami try desperately to formulate a sentence, but she couldn't. All she could do was groan. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Her dad must have thought the same thing, because he grabbed her arm and shouted, "Cough! Cough hard and deliberately!"

Cami did as she was told, and the first cough made her feel as though she was being ripped in two. A tear glistened in her eye, threatening to spill over. She coughed again, and the tear came, along with several others. She felt her dad leave, and realized that he was probably going to get help. Sure enough, a bodyguard soon appeared next to her, picking Cami up and rushing up the aisle.

Beyond the pain that she was feeling, beyond the sounds of the venue ambulance roaring to life, and even beyond the beat of the music, the last thing that she remembered seeing was Nate, looking at her worriedly from the stage. Then everything went black.


	2. Heart Stopping Concert

Cami slowly opened her eyes, wishing almost immediately that she could shut them again. She found that her head throbbed, and there was a constant beeping noise in the background about the sound of the blood pulsing through her brain at a high rate of speed. The brightness of the room made her recoil, and she let out a groan. "I must not be in heaven," she mumbled.

"Why not?" a voice asked.

"Because I doubt they have annoying, beeping whatevers in heaven," she answered without thinking, her headache making her grumpy.

She heard a chuckle and opened her eyes once more, sure that it was Ryne, laughing at her once again, but when she focused on the person sitting in the chair next to the bed, her eyes widened. "I take it all back," she teased. "I am in heaven."

Nate Grey smiled at her. "What about the annoying, beeping whatevers?" he asked, quoting her.

Cami smiled. "I'll get over them." She raised one arm to place it against her head but found that her goal was corrupted by all the tubes sticking out of the back of her hand. She frowned and looked around, noticing the ugly white walls in the room, and all the machinery. "Where am I?" she asked, turning to face Nate, who had stood so that he could drape himself across the bedrail.

Nate smiled at her delayed reaction. "You're in the hospital," he explained.

Cami sank back against the pillow, closing her eyes. "I knew that heaven couldn't have such an awful color scheme." She heard laughter, so she opened on eye to squint at Nate, who was trying to keep his voice down. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he responded, shaking his head. "It's just your reaction. You've just accepted the fact that you're in the hospital, yet you criticize heaven on its lack of color sense."

Cami smiled wearily. "Well, when you put it that way," she began, and then stopped. "So why am I in the hospital, and why are you here?"

Before Nate could answer, Cami heard footsteps approaching and two other figures came in through the door. Nate motioned them over, saying, "She's awake and complaining already."

"Hey!" Cami responded, mock offended. "All I did was criticize the color scheme." She glared at Nate. "You'll give me a reputation for being a complainer."

"Sorry," Nate said with a grin, turning to his brothers, who were watching the exchange with interest. "She was only complaining about the color scheme."

"Oh," Shane said, plopping down on the edge of the bed and ignoring the uncharacteristic grin on his brother's face. "That makes everything better. I would complain too if I had to stay here." He glanced around the room, not noticing that Cami was gaping at him. Shane Grey of Connect 3 was sitting on her bed!

Jason stuck his head in between his brothers. "I'm Jason," he said. "How're you feeling?"

Cami smiled at him, fighting off the urge to grimace as she felt her headache getting worse. "I'm okay," she said. "I have a terrible headache, though." She glanced from one face to the other. "Where's my family?"

Nate stepped forward, and Cami had no trouble fixing her eyes on him. "They went out quickly to get something to eat. We offered to stay with you until they got back, in case you woke up."

"What happened to me?" Cami asked again.

Everyone seemed to get quieter, and the boys' faces grew solemn. "You had a heart attack," Nate informed her quietly. "The doctor said that it was because of the bass vibrations." She shook his head. "I never realized that they could do something like that to a person."

"Aren't heart attacks supposed to be something that happens to older people?" Cami asked, confused and slightly unable to absorb this new information.

Jason nodded and explained, "But it can happen to anyone. The bass caused your heart to speed up and then stop because the blood flow to your heart was blocked."

Cami looked at him, surprised. Shane explained with a wink, "When anyone goes into the hospital, we like to do our research."

Cami smiled. "Good to know that I'm covered," she said, causing the boys to smile. She noticed their anxious glances and tried to calm them. "Really, I feel fine," she lied. "Honestly."

"Really?" Nate asked. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up four fingers.

Cami rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" she asked. "That totally doesn't work. "Two fingers."

Nate narrowed his eyes. "You say that with such confidence," he said.

"Because I'm right," Cami insisted. "What's so hard about telling how many fingers you're holding up?"

Shane grinned, but it looked rather forced. "Apparently a lot, since my brother's holding up four fingers, not two."

Cami blinked. "Oh," she said, all the confidence gone from her voice.

Nate's eyes swept over her, and Cami wondered what he was doing. "Can I get you anything?" he asked. "Are you thirsty?"

Cami realized she was and nodded. Nate poured her a cup of water and placed a straw in the cup so that she could drink easier. He handed it to Cami. "There you go," he said.

She smiled. "Thanks," she said, and leaned down to take a drink. Suddenly, she stopped and looked up at the brothers. "The straw is where I think it is, right?"

Nate smiled at her while Shane and Jason dissolved into laughter. "Yes," Nate assured her. "It is."

Once Cami had taken a few sips, she handed the cup back to Nate with a 'thank you,' and leaned back against the pillow once more. "So how did the concert go?" she asked. "Since I wasn't able to see the whole thing."

"Actually," Shane said carefully, "we didn't continue for very long after you got taken out. None of us could concentrate, and Nate actually started playing the wrong song once, so we decided to call it a night."

Nate glared at him, and Cami looked from one brother to the other as they stared each other down. Why would Nate be distracted by her? "You guys should've kept going," she said quietly. "You didn't have to worry about me."

Jason frowned. "Of course we did," he told her. "You were looking just fine at the start of the night, and then something happened to you, and we were pretty sure that it was in some way connected with us." He smiled bashfully. "It was our bass, our fault, and we want to make it up to you."

"You don't-" Cami began, but Nate interrupted her.

"We know we don't," he said. "But we want to. We've already talked to your family, and they're okay with you spending some time with us after you get out of the hospital. Sound good?"

Cami nodded and smiled at the boys before her. "Sounds awesome." She grinned, feeling the headache slowly dissipating and her sense of humor returning. "You know," she began. "Something good's come out of this whole mess."

"What?" Shane asked.

"You can now say that your concerts are 'heart stopping,'" she teased.

For a moment, the boys just stared at her, unsure as to whether or not she was joking. When they noticed the mischievous glint in her eyes, they dissolved into fits of laughter. Cami laughed along with them, as much as she could without jarring her body.

These boys were going to be good friends, but the way Nate was looking at her………


	3. Being Babied

Cami leaned her head back against the pillow of her hospital bed and groaned. She was bored out of her mind! "Stupid doctors," she muttered, upset that certain people with M.D.s after their names would try and keep her here "for observation."

"Bored?" someone asked. Cami looked up to find Nate standing in the doorway, smiling at her.

"Yup," she replied. "I'm fine. I just want to go home." She thought for a moment. "Or go out to eat." She smiled up at Nate, who had seated himself in a chair next to the bed. "Hospital food sucks."

Nate nodded. "I know," he said quietly. "I had it for a while when I was first diagnosed with diabetes." A silence seemed to settle over the room as each teen thought about their hospital experiences. Cami began to hum softly, thinking of one of her favorite Connect 3 songs. "Sing for me?"

The request startled Cami and she turned to look at Nate. "What?" she asked, unsure as to how the conversation had gone from hospital food to singing until she realized that she had been humming.

"Please," Nate said quietly. "Sing."

Cami shook her head. "I sound horrible," she protested.

"I'm sure you don't," Nate said. "Please?"

So, grudgingly, Cami began a rendition of A Little Bit Longer, smiling at Nate because they both recognized the irony in the song. Cami closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillow again to focus on the words of the song. By the time she finished, she was feeling more comfortable with her own voice. She opened her eyes to find Nate looking at her curiously. "What?" she asked.

"In what part of your brain do you consider that horrible?" he asked. "That was not horrible."

Cami gave him a look to warn him against teasing her. "Nate-" she began.

"True, it could use some work, but it wasn't horrible. You're a very decent singer." Nate smiled. "If you want, I can help you work on your pitch a little when you come over," he offered.

"I'm really coming over?" Cami asked, teasingly. "That wasn't just a ploy to make me heal faster?"

"Whose ploy?" Shane asked, following Jason into the room. "What have you done this time, Nate?"

Nate rolled his eyes at his brother. "Nothing," he said. "Cami was asking if we'd tricked her when we said that we'd hang out after she got out of the hospital." His eyes twinkled as he added, "Today."

Cami jumped up into a sitting position, a huge grin on her face. "I can get out of here today?" she asked excitedly. "I can really leave?" Her eagerness made Shane laugh.

"You make it sound like you're in a horror movie or something," he said.

Cami gave him a teasing look. "You don't stay overnight," she told him. "You can't comprehend the things that go on around here." She winked at Nate. "Especially at the nurses' station."

Shane, with a delight for flirting with those same nurses, gasped. "No!" he cried. "Not the nurses!"

Cami nodded. "Yes," she said mysteriously. "The nurses."

She and Nate dissolved into fits of laughter as Shane glared at them for teasing him. The merriment was cut short when a nurse arrived, smiling with that fake smile and saying, "Alright, Miss Barrilla, it looks like you can go now." Cami pumped her fist as the nurse turned around to pull Cami's clothes out of the closet and set the next to the bed. "If you need any help, just call the nurses' station."

"Thanks," Cami replied, trying in vain to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She wasn't dying, she wasn't even incapacitated. True, she was still a little sore, but other than that, there was nothing wrong with her, and certainly nothing that would prevent her from dressing herself.

"We'll be outside when you're finished," Nate told her, shooing his brothers out the door. Cami smiled gratefully back at him and when the door was shut, she hopped out of bed, yanking off the standard issue gown and her comfy pair of sweatpants so that she could delve into the bag, pulling out the clothes she had worn at the concert. With only a bit of stiffness, she pulled everything on and opened the door so that the boys could come back in.

"Your parents should be here in a few minutes to release you and bring your suitcase so that you can come with us." He motioned back to the bed. "Just until they come to release you," he promised.

With a groan, Cami hopped back into bed, placing her hands behind her head. "So what'll we do?" she asked. "How long am I staying? Do you have a pool?"

"Whoa!" Shane cautioned, putting his hands up to ward off anymore questions. "One at a time, if you please," he replied. "We'll do whatever you want to do. You're staying for two weeks, and yes, we have a pool."

"Cool," Cami said with a smile just as her parents entered the room, followed by a nurse with a wheelchair. "Mom!" Cami whined, seeing the chair.

"Cami," her mom replied, raising one hand, much the same way Shane had. "I don't want to hear it."

Her mom began to help the nurse, and finally, Cami couldn't stand it anymore. "Mom!" she cried again, rolling her eyes. "I'm fine! Really, I don't break upon contact with the floor." She glanced pointedly at the way her mom was trying to transfer her from the hospital bed to the mandatory, yet completely unnecessary wheelchair next to the bed. "If it wasn't for hospital rules, I'd be walking out of here."

Cami's mom blushed, seeing her daughter's point. "Very well." Cami's feet touched the floor and she walked to the wheelchair, plopping herself down into it. Her mother simply rolled her eyes as the nurse wheeled Cami out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. Once downstairs, the Grey's had a car waiting for Cami, and she hugged her parents goodbye, promising them that she would be careful and have fun.

The boys "helped" her into the car and they drove off, waving to the Barillas. "Where first?" Nate asked. "Eating at a restaurant that will give you a heart attack all over again, or go kart racing?"

Cami smiled, knowing that neither were actually an option. He was only trying to make her smile. "Definitely the go karts," she replied, leaning back and anticipating the ride to the Grey's house.


	4. Music Lessons

Cami tapped her fingers against the counter, feeling fidgety. How in the world had she accepted Nate Grey's (_THE_ Nate Grey's) help with her singing? Her fingers twisted around in the scarf she wore, her favorite for good luck, and blamed her moment of weakness on the anesthetics she'd been given. Even that did little to comfort her.

"You ready?" Nate asked, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen. Cami turned from where she had been standing at the sink and shook her head.

"No," she said honestly.

Nate smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry about it," he said softly. "You'll be just fine."

Cami, completely oblivious, missed the look on his face as he looked at her with a small smile. "Doubt it," she muttered. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

"For today," Nate reminded her with a grin.

Cami groaned exaggeratedly. "For today," she said, sounding as though she was going to die at the thought of doing this torturous routine in the future.

Nate grinned, rolling his eyes. "We haven't even begun, and you're acting like you're in slavery or something."

Cami smiled and pulled him along. "Let's get this over with," she said again.

They headed through the living room, where Shane and Jason were playing Guitar Hero, and had almost made it up the stairs when Shane called, "Where are you two going?"

Cami couldn't formulate an answer fast enough, and Nate said, "I'm helping Cami with her singing."

"Cool!" Shane cried, pulling the guitar strap over his head. "I want to help too!"

Cami tried to argue, mortified that not only Nate, but also Shane, would have to hear her sing, but in the end, Shane tagged along and the trio ended up in Nate's room where his keyboard sat propped up against the wall. Cami glared at the instrument as it seemed to taunt her from its position. "I think we should start with scales, don't you?" Nate asked, breaking through Cami's thoughts.

Cami looked at him and responded dryly, "That sounds awesome."

Nate grinned, and Cami was once again surprised with the way he looked at her, but brushed it off as a trick of the eyes. Nate Grey would never be interested in her. She shook her mind out of her thoughts, standing in the same spot as Nick sat down in front of the keyboard and began to play a scale. "Shane first," he said, and Shane began to sing each note as it was played. At the high E, Nate played it again, saying, "Try again, Shane. Your E sounded more like an F."

"It did not!" Shane retorted haughtily, but then realized what Nate was doing. He was trying to calm Cami by showing her that even stars could make mistakes. So instead of debating his brother, Shane sang the note again. "Better?" he asked with a slight lift of his eyebrow.

Nate nodded. "Much." He turned to Cami and motioned for her to step closer to him. "Your turn," he said cheerfully.

Cami stepped closer and closed her eyes, willing herself to focus on the note being played in order that she might not sing the wrong note. Nate began to play, and she matched each note. He didn't stop at the regular scale, but continued on, seeing how far she could go. After six more notes, Cami's voice broke embarrassingly, and she stopped, her face turning red. "Oops," she said weakly. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Nate assured her. "That was really good." He smiled at her again, and Cami's heart fluttered strangely. She broke eye contact and stared at the ground. Nate cleared his throat and said, "I think I'll assign each one of you a song to work on for the day, and then you'll come back and sing it for me at the end. Okay with you?"

The question was directed toward Cami, but Shane broke in with a whine, "Why do I have to sing?"

Nate's eyes narrowed as he looked at his brother. "Because you butted in on our lessons, wanting to help. Now, you can help by learning a song." Nate sat back, a mischievous grin nearly splitting his face. "Since you interrupted me rather rudely, your song shall be," Nate tapped his chin, thinking hard, "The Cuppycake Song."

"No!" Shane cried. "I won't do it!"

Nate tried hard to suppress his laughs and was failing miserably. "Too bad," he said. "I'm the teacher, and you're the student, so go find the song on Youtube and get working on it." He gave Shane a dismissive wave of his hand.

Shane gave Nate a glare and walked out of the room dramatically, vowing, "You will pay."

Cami looked at Nate and they both dissolved into laughter. "Oh my gosh," she wheezed. "That was amazing. The look on his face!" She started laughing all over again.

Nate nodded and said smugly, "Normal voice lessons: $200. Internet service: $24.95. Seeing my brother's horrified face: priceless." At that, they started laughing all over again. "Seriously," Nate said after a while when they had regained their breath. "We should pick out a song for you. How about something easy, like Amazing Grace?"

Cami shrugged. "Sure," she said.

So the lesson began, and Nate listened as Cami worked out the flaws in her singing. At the end of a perfect rendition of Amazing Grace, he leaned back in his chair and said, "I think you should open for us."

Cami gaped at him, sure that she hadn't heard him correctly. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Nate smiled. "You heard me. I think you should open for us."

"But I'm not even that good!" Cami insisted.

"Sure you are, and I've already talked to the boys and our manager. We all think it's a good idea." Nate smiled at her encouragingly. "I suggest that you start thinking up a song." Cami just gaped at him and he offered, "I'll help you, if you'd like."

There was that smile again! Cami didn't understand what it meant, but she had a feeling that when Nate smiled that smile at her, she'd do almost anything. Uh oh.


	5. Telling Her

Cami was shaking all over. She shuddered as she heard another roar, fearing what that might mean. Sure enough, she heard her name called, and it was time to face the music. And yes, the pun was completely intended. She stepped out of the shadows, blinking at the brilliant lights, and then pasted on a confident smile that she in no way felt. _I can do this_, she kept reminding herself. _I can do this._

_This_ was a crowd of almost ten thousand people, waiting to hear her sing. She gulped and fiddled with the mic looped over her ear, waiting for the music to start. It did, all too soon, and Cami focused on singing the right notes at the right times, throwing the right words in as a bonus. Who but she and Nate would know if she got the stanzas mixed up? Who would care if one slightly different chorus came at the wrong time? But in the end, she didn't have to worry about any of that, for she sang perfectly, not messing up once.

"Thank you!" she called to the crowd of screaming people. They were screaming for _her._ They were cheering for _her._ Cami couldn't believe it. "Thank you!" she cried again, realizing that two months ago, when Nate had told her that she would should open for their band, she had stared at him in shock, and had then laughed, never dreaming that she would actually be here. But she was, and she was going to make the most of it.

She waved to the crowd as the stage went dark, and slipped out under its cover. She briefly saw the boys backstage, and Nate even snagged her jacket, wanting to talk to her, but he didn't get the chance. The boys were cued, and they had to leave. Nate shot Cami a longing look as he passed, but soon replaced it with a small smile for the crowds.

The concert went on, but Cami wasn't really paying attention. She fingered the scarf she wore around her neck, her own little signature, and gazed at Nate. For the past few weeks, he had seemed to want to say something to her, but there had never been a "right" time. Someone was always coming in just as he asked her to talk, or as soon as he opened his mouth, he was needed somewhere. Then and there, she decided that no matter what, tonight she would make time for him to talk to her.

She waited through the whole concert, grinning when she realized that the boys had kept to their words and had cranked the bass down. She cheered just as hard as some of the girls as the boys sifted through their repertoire

to give their fans the best possible concert experience. When the last song blasted through the speakers, Cami felt her chest growing tighter with nervousness. What was it that Nate wanted to say to her? Was he angry, or was he happy about something and he had just never had a chance to share his news wither her?

"Cami?" someone asked quietly behind her.

Even so, Cami was so lost in thought that the sound scared her and she jumped around to find Mrs. Grey standing there, watching her carefully. "Sorry," Cami apologized, fearing that she had missed something. "What?"

Mrs. Grey shook her head. "Nothing," she assured Cami. "I just wanted to know if you were alright."

Cami nodded. "I'm fine," she told her with a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mrs. Grey glanced at Cami's hands for a moment and then smiled again. "Just a guess," she said.

Cami looked down and found the empty water bottle that she had been holding was twisted and squished. She blushed a deep shade of red and shrugged. "Nervous habit," she said as her excuse.

Mrs. Grey took a step toward Cami and nodded. "I could've understood that if this was pre-concert jitters, but your part of the concert's over and done with. Is there something else wrong?"

The kind, open-minded look that Mrs. Grey gave Cami almost made the younger woman say something, but then she berated herself and shook her head again. She really had no idea what Nate wanted to say to her, and for all she knew, he could be wanting to plan something for his mother's birthday, which was soon coming up. "No," she said again. "Nothing's wrong, but thank you."

Mrs. Grey nodded and stepped away from Cami to watch the rest of the show. Cami turned her attention back to the boys, who were making their final bow and waving to their fans. This would be it. She would snag Nate when he ran by and she would ask him what he wanted to say to her. "Goodnight everybody!" Shane shouted from the stage, and then the lights went dark. This was her chance.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, pounding so hard that she feared she might have another heart attack! Why was she so nervous? Cami knew the answer to that one. She worried that Nate would say something that she didn't like. Perhaps he wanted to tell her that he had asked some lucky girl to be his girlfriend. The thought made Cami's fists clench. She didn't want Nate to date anyone. Anyone but her, that is.

The boys came barreling through backstage and Cami opened her mouth to say something, but Nate grabbed her hand silently and pulled her along with him so that she had no choice but to run along with him.

"We have to get out to the bus before they start letting everyone out of the stadium," Nate shouted to be heard over the roar of the crowd above them.

Cami nodded and hung on tightly to his hand as they ran through the corridors and out to the bus. Once inside, Cami collapsed at the dining table, breathing hard. Nate sat down next to her while the others in the family filed off to their prospective spots in the tour bus.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Nate asked, his breathing just as labored as hers.

Cami nodded. "Yes," she said softly. "It was wonderful."

Nate smiled at her and squeezed her hand, which was still joined with his. "They loved you."

Cami smiled back at him and returned the squeeze. "I have a pretty awesome teacher." For a moment, Nate said nothing. He simply looked at her as though he were off in another world, and Cami got the feeling that he wanted to say something. "Whatever it is," she told him quietly, bringing him out of his daze, "I'm all ears."

"Are you sure?" he asked, not seeming surprised that she was asking him to share with her.

Cami nodded. "I just hope you're not mad at me," she said softly.

Nate frowned for a moment, and Cami realized that he was confused. Then, his eyes widened in understanding and he let out an actual laugh. "You thought I was mad at you?" he asked incredulously. When Cami nodded, he laughed again. "You know," he said, a serious note back in his voice as he leaned closer. Cami leaned closer as well in order to hear his next words. "For being so smart, you're pretty unobservant."

With that, he closed the gap in between them and kissed her softly, telling her without words what he had been waiting to say for so long.

**A/N: WOOHOO!!! Hey guys! I'm back working on this story!! Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but I had to get myself out of the hole I'd created. Hope you enjoyed this chapter (even though I left it on a cliff hanger!!) Please review and let me know what you think!! Love you all! :D**


	6. One Year Later

**One Year Later…..**

"Morning," Cami said sleepily as she strolled into the living room of the tour bus that she almost permanently lived in.

Mrs. Grey looked up and smiled widely at her young charge. "Morning, Cami," she chirped. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah!" Shane called out from behind his mother. "The pancakes are great!" He waved one around on his fork to demonstrate and ended up accidentally flinging it into Jason's lap.

"Shane!" Jason growled, quickly throwing the pancake back onto his brother's plate. He tried to brush any pieces of pancake off his new pants.

"Oops," Shane muttered and then said brightly, "At least I hadn't put syrup on it yet!" The glare that Jason shot his brother assured Shane that his little bit of uplifting news was _not_ a selling point.

Cami shook her head at the boys and asked Mrs. Grey, "Where's-"

"Gotta go!" someone shouted just as she spoke. Cami turned quickly, knowing exactly who it was. Nate Grey, her boyfriend of one year exactly, was currently struggling to pull on his jacket as he skidded out the door.

"Where are you going?" Cami asked him curiously, looking from Nate to his brothers, who hadn't moved, and back to him. They always went everywhere together.

"Interview," Nate said, struggling to pull on his second shoe. "See ya!"

"Wait!" Cami called, hating to be a bother, but knowing that she needed an answer. "Do you have plans for tonight?"

Nate paused at the door, the first time he had ever stopped moving since she had seen him that morning, and looked at her, confused. "No. Why? What's tonight?"

A fork clattered to a plate, and Cami cringed, knowing that Shane was probably responsible for the noise. Everyone in the room but Nate seemed to be waiting with baited breath for her to say something, perhaps yell about him forgetting and _never _having time for her (which was true) or something to that effect. Cami, however, simply shook her head and tried to issue forth a convincing smile. "No reason. Have fun."

As the door closed behind him, Cami excused herself and climbed back into her bunk, curling up and shutting her eyes tightly to avoid the tears that would fall if she kept her eyes opened. Ever since they had kissed that night at the concert, time seemed to be against them. The tour sucked hours out of their days, usually leaving them too tired to go out on a date. Cami barely even got a heartfelt kiss anymore. Everything was on got-to-run mode, and it bothered her. It bothered her because she felt left out of Nate's life. It bothered her because he was so out of tune with hers.

She thought about the film she was currently working on, and she bit her lip. Nate had been the one to convince her to audition, to sign her up with an agent when she had protested, and when she had gotten the part, they had both been ecstatic. Now, she had begun taking dance classes in both ballroom dance and hip hop, yet Nate was never around to help her practice. If she needed a partner, Shane or Jason gallantly stepped up, never insinuating that it should be Nate dancing with her instead of them. They didn't need to insinuate. _She knew._ However, Nate was never around.

"_Why do I keep doing this to myself?"_ Cami wondered as she curled into a tighter ball. She went to every single event of Nate's, many times arranging her schedule in a way she knew she would regret later. And it was all for him. Yet he never knew. He never seemed to care. She was accepted as part of his family, but he was the one that seemed to pay less attention to her than anyone else.

Cami's hand moved under her pillow, accidentally touching something that she had tucked under there a while ago. She pulled it out and sighed heavily. It was a blue flier with big, black lettering that proclaimed, **Rhythm on the Floor**. Cami sighed once again and pushed the paper back under her pillow.

It was an exhibition of her entire school where she took her dance classes. At first, because she was only taking the classes in preparation for the movie, Cami had declined a part in the show, but her dance teacher had convinced her otherwise. "You're a natural, Cami," her teacher had assured her. "Your talent reaches much further than you think."

Now, all she had to do was get a moment with Nate alone to ask him to come and watch her. The exhibition was only an hour. Surely he could spare that much time? "Couldn't he?"

"Couldn't who do what?" someone asked.

Cami jolted into a sitting position, nearly banging her head on the bunk above her as she did so, and found Mrs. Grey leaning casually against the doorpost of the room. Only then did Cami realize that she had asked the last question out loud. Without saying anything, Cami pulled the flier, now rather crumpled, out from under her bed and passed it to the woman who now seemed like her second mother.

For a long time, Mrs. Grey just stood in the doorway, staring at the flier as her eyes took in every detailed bit of information that the piece of paper offered. When she had finished, she looked up at Cami, her eyes shining with pitying understanding. "And you want Nate to go, am I right?"

Cami nodded. "But he's so preoccupied," she told Mrs. Grey, "that I don't know if he'd have the time, or would even want to go." She pressed her lips together. "I just don't know what to do. We never have time anymore to talk, and he, well, we forgot what today was."

"Your one year anniversary," Mrs. Grey said gently. Cami looked up, startled that her boyfriend's mother had remembered such a detail. "He had it written down on his calendar," the older woman explained.

"Yet he forgot," Cami said morosely. "I'm not asking that he remember everything, but-"

"But today was a special day," Mrs. Grey finished for her. "And yes, he forgot. If he'd stuck around to eat, I think I would have done _something_ to his food." Cami smiled and Mrs. Grey put an arm around her. "Contrary to what you may think, Nate loves you very much. I only hope that he'll see what he's doing to you before it's too late."

"Me too," Cami said softly as Mrs. Grey gave her an encouraging smile and left to check on her other two boys. Cami looked down at the flier that Mrs. Grey had handed back to her and made up her mind. She would schedule in a time to talk with Nate, and then she would explain to him exactly how she had been feeling for the past year.

The time for holding all of her emotions in had come to an end.

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long for this one. As you probably know, I'm writing this story for camirae, and I was waiting for an answer about skipping a year into the future. Hope you guys are okay with the time lapse, and I hope you liked this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!!**


	7. Trying to Talk

For the next week, Cami struggled to find time to speak with Nate about the exhibition. He was always gone, or about to leave, and Cami found herself incredibly frustrated with her failed attempts to speak with him. "Nate!" she said wearily one day, just as he and his brothers were heading out the door.

Usually, he told her that he didn't have time to talk at that moment and that he would talk with her later, but something in her voice must have warned him that it was important because he stopped and asked, "Yes?" as he brothers slipped away to give them privacy.

"Can we talk when you get home?" Cami asked from her position on the couch, her eyes wide and pleading. She _needed_ to talk with him, not only because of the exhibition, but also because of the strain he was causing to her emotional health.

Nate hesitated, and the dreaded words that Cami had begun to fear came out of his mouth. "Well, Connect 3 had this thing going on later. Tomorrow maybe?"

Cami sucked back her disappointment and shook her head. "Whatever," she told him, and turned back to her book, unable to hide the hurt in her voice and face any longer.

"Cam-" Nate began, but then thought better of it and left, softly shutting the door behind him.

When he had left, Cami turned her gaze back to Mrs. Grey, who sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hands, intently watching the younger girl. "That went horribly," she told Mrs. Grey.

The older woman frowned. "How so?" she asked Cami.

"I acted like those girls in the movies," Cami moaned, her head in her hands. "I let my emotions get out of hand, and now he's probably confused."

Mrs. Grey laughed lightly for a moment and then asked, "Cami, darling, you're not made of wood, are you?"

The question surprised Cami and she took a moment before shaking her head and responding, "No. Why?"

"Only wood has no emotions," Mrs. Grey said. "I admire you for the way you've waited to talk to my son for over a year now. Most girls wouldn't stand for that kind of neglect."

Cami shrugged, embarrassed. "I didn't do anything special," she told Mrs. Grey. "It would be petty of me to have done anything else. Music _is_ his life, after all."

"Yes," Mrs. Grey admitted, but the way she said it told Cami plainly that she wasn't quite finished with her concession. "But, you're also a large part of his life." She stood and strode over to where Cami was curled up on the couch. "Don't sell yourself so short, dear," she said, placing a hand on Cami's cheek.

"Thanks," Cami whispered appreciatively. "I won't."

* * *

She was waiting for him when he arrived home. He hadn't expected her to be, since they day was long since over and rapidly approaching morning before he and his brothers stumbled in, tired from their long day. However, there she was, curled up on the couch reading. It took her a few seconds to look up upon his arrival, and in those few moments, he realized that he had been missing something. In all honesty, it had been months since he had paid proper attention to her, and for the first time, he regretted his ignorance.

"Cami?" he asked softly, barely noticing as his brothers slipped behind him and scrambled out of the room to give the young couple their privacy.

Cami turned towards him and smiled. "Hey," she said softly, but there was some note in her voice, some hard edge that he had never noticed before. His Cami had never had that note in her voice before, or had she? He had certainly never noticed it, but that was nothing new since he was so busy he could barely remember what day of the week it was.

"What are you doing up?" Nate asked her, coming to stand closer to her.

"I was hoping we could talk," Cami told him, her voice conveying her hesitancy on the subject.

Nate frowned. "I thought we had scheduled that for tomorrow," he said, and immediately regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Cami's eyes narrowed and she sucked in a breath, probably in order not to yell at him. "You see," she started quietly, trying very hard to keep her temper under control, "that's what's the problem with you. Everything _has_ to be on a schedule. I waited up to talk to you because I was pretty sure that by the time you got home, there would be something scheduled for tomorrow. Am I right?" His silence assured her that she was. "Do you have any idea how long you've pretty much ignored me since I became your girlfriend?" He didn't think he was expected to answer, so it came as a surprise when Cami raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked.

"A year?" he guessed.

Cami smirked, but the expression was one of sadness as she said, "Good guess. Yes, a year. You forgot our anniversary a week ago, and I hardly see you anymore."

"I've been really busy," Nate protested, knowing all the while that his protests were lame, and were only making things worse between him and his girlfriend.

"Fine!" Cami said, her voice dangerously close to breaking out of its carefully confined tone. "But could you at least put aside a little time for me? I'm not trying to be like those girls in movies and books that make you choose between them and your career, or even your family! I know that music is your life, and that I come second, but seriously! In your little world, it seems that I pretty much come last!"

"Cami-" Nate began, but she cut him off.

"I didn't wait up all night to yell at you," she assured him. "Actually, I wanted to give you this." She handed him a crumpled flier and stood to leave.

Nate took the paper and realized that she was leaving. Her face was sorrowful, since she no longer tried to mask her pain, and her eyes refused to meet his as she turned to go. He had royally screwed up, and he knew it. Desperately, he called after her, "What do you want me to do?"

Cami turned back to him, and her eyes finally met his. The pain that he saw in those beautiful eyes made him realize just how much he had missed out on. "I just want to be a part of your life, Nathaniel." The use of his whole name made him cringe. "And I want you to be a part of mine." And then she was gone.

The silence that accompanied her exit was almost palpable as Nate stared after her for a long while. Then, he looked down at the flier she had given him and read through it, his eyes taking in everything the piece of paper had to say. When he saw the date, he mentally groaned. It was tomorrow. It was at the exact same time as his audition. The one that he had yet to tell Cami about.

With only a moment's hesitation, Nate pulled out his cell phone and dialed the first number that came to mind. When the person on the other end picked up, Nate said, "Hey, it's Nate Grey." Words came through the receiver and Nate laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, I know about the time. Sorry about that. There's a good reason, though. I need to talk to you."

"Is it important?" the voice at the other end asked tiredly.

Nate nodded, even though he knew the person on the other end couldn't see, and stared at the flier in front of him as he said, "Yes, it's very important."

**A/N: Cliffhanger! LOL! Anyways, quick update since I've sorely neglected this fic. Hope you enjoyed it! :D Please review! It makes me so happy!**


	8. Final Bow

Cami pulled into the relatively empty parking lot and parked, biting back a sigh as she leaned her head against the steering wheel in an effort to calm herself down. She hadn't seen Nate earlier that morning, and the fact that he was gone was even more depressing than if he had just been ignoring her out of anger. Obviously, she had either "hit the nail on its head," or she had seriously overstepped her bounds.

"_Get a grip!"_ she hissed at herself mentally. She was here for a reason, and if Nate wasn't there, that was his problem. Nothing she could do or say would fix that, so she steeled herself against the questions she knew would come at her the moment she stepped inside the building and stepped out of the car, swinging her dance bag over her shoulder in a practiced motion.

As she stepped through the doors, Cami was met with a round of enthusiastic squeals. "You're here! You're here!" the girls chorused as they ran up to hug Cami, latching onto her in an almost possessive manner.

Cami laughed. She had expected this. "Yup!" she grinned. "I'm here."

"We didn't think you'd make it," one girl in her class told her, beaming happily. She peered over Cami's shoulder. "Is your boyfriend coming to watch you?"

Immediately, Cami's face fell. She'd been expecting this as well, she had just hoped that the question would have come up later. "No," she said, unable to hide some of the sadness in her voice. "He's busy today and he couldn't get away."

The girls noticed Cami's sad face and a couple of them swung their arms around her shoulders. "Well we'll just have fun without him, won't we?" one said, and their happy attitudes brightened Cami's countenance as she let them lead her towards her dressing room.

Once inside, Cami was left alone to change into the dress she had brought with her. She slipped the silky material over her head, relishing in the cool, comfortable feeling of the dress. She adjusted it and then reached into her bag to pull out her pair of modest heels. Most girls at the school wore very high heels, but Cami had no desire to break an ankle, or something even more drastic, so she chose smaller heels.

She fixed her hair the way her dance teacher had taught her and then looked at herself for the first time in the mirror. The girl that stared back startled her. Sadness clouded her pretty eyes and her shoulders, usually pushed back, were slouched with defeat and depression. No matter how many times she assured herself that she didn't mind Nate not being there tonight, Cami was forced to admit in the moment she saw her reflection that she _did_ care. She cared more than anything in the world, and he would never know.

Her phone buzzed and Cami's head jerked towards her bag. Her hand shot out and grabbed for the device and then frowned when she realized that she had received a text. _"Who'd be texting me?"_ she wondered. Neither Shane nor Jason ever texted her. They always called her if they needed her.

She opened the text message, sent from a phone number she didn't know, and the words **"Canceled my audition. Break a leg,"** popped out at her. Cami frowned, confused. Did someone have the wrong number? Probably not since they had said, "Break a leg." However, she had no idea, and she refused to let herself think that it might have been Nate. After all, he hadn't had an audition that she knew of.

One of her friends poked her head in and said, "Fifteen minutes 'til show time, Cami. Better get your makeup done."

Cami nodded, yanked out of her world of wondering. "Thanks."

The next fifteen minutes were spent enduring the poking and prodding of eyeliner, mascara brushes, foundation, and blush. When Cami glanced at herself in the mirror, she had to smile. She looked beautiful.

A knock sounded at her door and Cami bid the person to enter as the makeup artist packed up her kit. When the person stepped inside, Cami saw that it was her dance partner, Matt. "Hey," he said softly, waiting until the makeup artist had left before he closed the door, shutting the pair off from the outside world.

"Hey yourself," Cami said with a smile, fixing the few strands of hair that had slipped out of her carefully-styled bun.

"You look gorgeous," Matt told her as he came to stand next to her. He noticed the slightly sad look in her eyes and asked, "Is your boyfriend here tonight?"

Cami dropped her head and shook it sadly. "No," she said softly. "He had something more important to do." No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep the bitter, disappointed note out of her voice.

Matt's eyes narrowed for a moment and he placed a gentle hand on Cami's shoulder. "Then he's not worth your time," he told her. That earned him a weak laugh from Cami and he continued with a sigh, "All I can hope is that one day, he sees just how special you really are."

Touched, Cami said, "Thank you, Matt. Boy, your girlfriend's lucky to have you!"

He grinned down at her and gave her a poke in the ribs. "You know it. Now come on. Let's go have some fun on that dance floor."

Cami pretended to glare at him. "Promise you won't drop me on that lift?" she questioned, knowing how hard he had to work to keep a hold on her when he spun her around. Somehow, however, he always managed, and it was a teasing subject between the two of them.

"I promise," he said solemnly, and then winked conspiratorially at her.

"Showtime, people!" their dance teacher exclaimed, clapping her hands as she announced it to the halls. Dancers filed out of their dressing rooms, ready to begin the show they had worked so hard on. When Cami's teacher spotted Cami, she grinned widely. "Our little movie star made it!" she teased. "And where's that delicious boyfriend of yours?"

Did everyone on the planet seriously have to ask about the boyfriend that really didn't seem to exist, or care about her life? "He's busy," Cami responded curtly, feeling Matt's hand tighten on her shoulder.

Cami's teacher seemed to understand, though, because she left, muttering, "Idiot." Cami could only assume that she meant Nate.

Cami and Matt were the fourth couple up, so they waited backstage and watched their friends dance. When the curtain went down, signifying that it was their turn, Cami gripped Matt's hand tightly and let him lead her out onto the dance floor.

The curtain rose, and Cami couldn't see past the first few rows of seats because the auditorium was so dark. She smiled and nodded politely when her name was announced over the loudspeakers and grinned at Matt as he bowed to her and waited for the music to begin.

When it did, he took her loosely in his arms, holding her close, but not too close. He spun her gently and then held her lower back as he dipped her down to the ground. Cami opened her eyes as he dipped her, and she barely caught sight of a mass of curly brown hair before Matt had pulled her back up.

Shock registered on Cami's face and she tried valiantly not to appear as though she was constantly staring out into the crowd, searching for the wisp of fantasy that would mean that Nate had come to watch her.

"Here we go," Matt whispered to her, alerting her that he was preparing her for the lift. Cami nodded, the action barely perceptible. Her hands grasped his as he launched her into the air and then brought her down, swinging her around in a circle inches from the ground.

It was then that Cami saw the brown hair again, this time accompanied by a face she had seen so many times that it was as familiar to her as her own. Nate Grey sat there in the fourth row, watching her with such love and remorse that it nearly made her forget the splits she was currently in. She felt her hands start to slip out of Matt's and he expertly pulled her out of the lift before he dropped her, pulling her close for a moment to make up for the extra music they now had.

"_Are you okay?"_ Matt's gaze clearly said. Cami had never been the cause of a lift problem before.

The grin on her face was infectious as she nodded, not caring if someone saw the motion. "He's here," she whispered to her partner as he lifted her up by her waist. He returned her smile with one of his own and a nod. He was happy for her.

After that, Cami took every opportunity to glance at Nate, knowing that he knew that she could see him. The fleeting glances they shared told each other how sorry they were, and how much they could change for each other.

As Matt and Cami took their bows, Cami couldn't help the smile she felt spreading across her face as she saw Nate stand up to applaud her.

He was here.

He had canceled an audition_ for her_.

He cared about her.

As Cami took her final bow, she smiled right at her boyfriend, knowing that no matter what happened in the future, they would be able to work it out together because of the hurdle they had just scaled. How did she know that?

Because he had come.

**A/N: It's actually over. NO! :D Anyways, thanks so much for reading up until this point. I hope you liked it, and I hope you were all pleased with the ending, especially you, Cami! Please review, and also, please check out my profile. I have a few stories that I want to start working on when Love is Unconscious is finished and I'd like to involve you by asking you to vote on it. Thanks! You guys are amazing! :)**

**cr8vgrl  
**


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